Amy Clark

While Tropical John’s voice can be heard announcing finishers at the Western States finish line in Auburn, he also maintains a prominent voice in the magazine. We spoke with John about his ultrarunning career, the history of the magazine, as well as his piece, “Four Decades of Ultrarunning” in the 40th anniversary special issue coming out in February.

As we roll into the coming year, we’ve learned to look for glimmers of hope. Glimmers like races returning, smiles underneath masks, and the possibility that our sport will return to normal when it’s safe to do so. But you don’t have to wait. Make those glimmers happen by continuing to cultivate the encouragement and support that our sport thrives on.

Jeff Stern recently set the FKT on the Backbone Trail in Southern California. After most of his races were canceled this year, he completed extensive research and proper scouting on the the trail in order to go for the FKT. In this episode, we talked about his background as an athlete, what it takes to prepare, and what he learned from his first FKT attempt. Jeff is an elite ultrarunner, columnist for UR, a coach and an all-around wonderful person. Read his latest feature on Big’s Backyard in the December 2020/January 2021 issue of UltraRunning.

UR columnist Gary Cantrell (Lazarus Lake) took on an unexpected and exciting new race format this summer that ended up being one of the biggest of his career. This podcast episode began as a column and turned into a conversation about the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee (GVRAT), Big’s Backyard and more.

Tracy Beth Høeg, MD, PhD is a sports doctor who happens to specialize in ultrarunning injuries. She is an accomplished ultrarunner herself, and continues to pursue a balance of being a working mom, wife and ultrarunner. We discuss how she found ultrarunning and became interested in studying the sport, her medical research at Western States, and how the current pandemic is affecting athletes. Dr. Høeg writes the column “Ultra Doc” for UR.

Fall has arrived. In a typical year, back-to-school activities would be in full swing and fall races would fill the weekends. While much of that has changed, brisk morning runs and leaf-lined trails are a sign that summer is no longer around to keep us warm.

As the co-founder of Squirrel’s Nut Butter, Chris Thornley is in the business of chafing – well, preventing it, that is. But it may come as a surprise that SNB was not originally created to prevent the dreaded skin burn.

John Trent has become a fixture in the ultrarunning community on the West Coast and is one of the best storytellers in the sport. Not only has he been on the Western States board since 2004, he’s also a race director and 10-time finisher of Western States. We discuss John’s big plans for 2020 prior to COVID-19 and his incredible ability to tell people’s stories in his column, Voice of the Sport.

In our very first episode, we talk with Erika Hoagland – an amazingly talented ultrarunner and author of the column, I Am an Ultrarunner in URM. We sit down to chat about her race plans (pre-COVID), training for 100-milers while being a mom, the experience of fastpacking around Lake Tahoe on her honeymoon, and what (and where) she hopes to run in the future.

Co-founded by Michel Poletti in 2012, the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) became a way to track and score all ultras for UTMB and Ultra Trail World Tour (UTWT). On April 14, it was announced that Bob Crowley was voted in as the new president, replacing Poletti.

There are many reasons to invest in a treadmill other than a few weeks of miserable winter weather and a global health crisis, but for sanity and safety purposes, these reasons float treadmill ownership to the top of our list.

Pumpkin doughnuts. That’s all it took to get me to sign up for a scramble in the fall – one of my first official trail races. Held on a Friday afternoon in October, the course took runners through golden aspens, splashing across a creek, climbing up a steep embankment (hence, the “scramble”) and along buttery single track for just a few short miles.

In 2017, the last finisher to round the track at Western States was Karen Bonnett-Natraj. The crowd erupted in cheers as she entered the stadium, and everyone was on their feet glancing at their watches as if that would help Karen make it to the finish line under the 30-hour cutoff. With just 9 seconds to spare, she became the oldest finisher that year at age 61.

Running on trails satisfies a primal need to connect with nature. The sheer thrill of treading across dirt, rocks and roots reaches deep into the soul and leaves us wanting more. After I began running ultras, I discovered another soulful connection with the trails that I never expected.

These women’s running tights from rabbit include a little compression and a lot of comfort. Perfect for mild winter weather or a chilly spring day, these tights will wick away moisture but aren’t insulated for sub-freezing temperatures.

Since turning 40 almost seven years ago, Jeff Browning has reacquainted himself with strength training. As a professional ultrarunner, he attributes his recent success to his “Tough 21” routine that helps him handle the volume and stress of 100-milers. Read and watch more about this circuit he does a few times per week.

For the past three years, I’ve been volunteering for the running club at my kids’ school. Kindergartners through fifth graders have the option of using their recess to run laps instead of play on the playground. Some of them choose to run a couple, while others run as many laps as they possibly can in their 20 minutes of free time.

While running the McDonald Forest 50K, my first ultra, I met a guy named Michael. We exchanged stories as I talked about my young twins and he told me how he’d run this particular race several times in the past. His training had recently taken a backseat because his wife was battling cancer.

With my history of previously failed 100k attempts, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect at the Cuyamaca 100K this past Saturday. In 2016, I succumbed to an injury just one week prior to the Gorge Waterfalls 100K. In 2017, I didn’t make the cutoff at mile 50 of the Gorge. And just this past May, I missed the start of the Miwok 100K due to a downed telephone pole. I was hoping the fourth time would be a charm.

As the last stop in the Under Armour Mountain Running Series, the 50K at Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort was the perfect event to kick off fall racing season in Central Oregon. With morning temperatures hovering around 30 degrees, runners had no choice but to don their winter gear at the 7 a.m. start.

Rolling up to Laz, he appeared as though he could have been part of a survey crew, or some form of civic organization in his neon yellow reflective vest. But Gary Cantrell, more commonly known as Lazarus Lake (Laz for short), is far from being associated with any government entity. He’s on a mission to walk across the United States, and he’s almost finished.

Low spots. Speed bumps. Ruts. We’ve all had them. Suddenly you find yourself in the midst of training without any mojo and weeks to go. How do you get back those butterflies you initially felt after registering on Ultrasignup.com?  Here are a few ideas to conquer what you’ll eventually see as a minor blip on your way to the finish line.

Wildfire season has arrived, right in the midst of summer training. Due to some of the most hazardous air quality conditions in the country caused by smoke, this year’s Siskiyou Out Back (SOB) Trail Run in Ashland, Oregon was canceled last weekend.

Lately, my inner voice has been talking and I’m proud to say I’ve been listening. It tells me to push through summer’s intense heat when I’ve got no other options. Other times I hear a faint whisper throughout a long run telling me that things are not going as planned, and just to let it go.

Whether it’s a medical talk on foot care or the vendor expo during the Western States 100 race registration, the feeling is overwhelming:  people have gathered together from all over the world to witness this annual event. But it didn’t matter whether you were a runner, crew member, pacer, volunteer or spectator – you were a part of the ultrarunning community.

It’s inevitable these days, a debilitating race anxiety hits that’s so overwhelming it’s actually scary. Heartbeats pound strong enough I feel as if my chest will shatter. Night sweats drench my pajamas. And a stomach twisted with nervous energy ensures the probability of getting any solid food down is next to nothing. Tackling new distances seems to exacerbate things, as I step into the unknown.

Spending my days alone in a home office keeps me longing for an escape, and a well-earned lunch of fresh air and vitamin D on the trails is often the highlight of my day. And while I run regularly with others, we typically don’t make a habit of analyzing our training plans. That’s where the services of a coach can come in handy. Here are a few things to consider when looking for someone to crack the proverbial whip.

Stories of canceled flights, food poisoning and illness have circulated as unfortunate reasons for a DNS (did not start). But never in my 16-year, long distance running career have I ever faced an obstacle while getting to the race start.

During the hour just before dusk, I was on a trail in the Columbia River Gorge trying to chase a cutoff during the Gorge Waterfalls 100K. Everything around me was already dark due to the tall Douglas fir trees and thick vegetation. My headlamp was at the next aid station which still seemed miles away.

Wildfires scorched over 24,000 acres of the Deschutes National Forest just west of Sisters, Oregon late last summer. Thick smoke settled in the small town of just 2,000 people, delaying the start of school and forcing many to cancel their vacation plans. So when the Peterson Ridge Rumble announced that the only change to this year’s event was a shortened section of trail on the 40-mile race course, no one was complaining.